George Osborne today announced that as a part of his emergency budget, the proposed 50p Broadband Tax will be scrapped. The plan was devised by Labour as a way to fund an improved broadband network in the UK, and a rollout of Fibre Optic cabling in rural areas. The 50p Tax was to be added to all landlines across the UK to create a £175 million-a-year subsidy pot for the improvement of broadband services.
No more tax for you!
However, BT have stated that there is not enough demand in around a third of the country to justify a major commerical rollout of Fibre Optic services. It’s been no secret that the Tories weren’t happy with the proposed tax, suggesting that competition within an open market is a far much effective way of creating a high speed broadband network across the country.
As an alternative to the tax, the Coalition Government have said that “If necessary, we will consider using the part of the TV Licence fee that is supporting the Digital Switchover to fund broadband in areas that the market alone will not reach”.
How do you feel about this move by the Coalition Government? Will the country have a fast, reliable and widespread broadband network soon enough? Let us know!
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Tags: Broadband, George Osborne, scrapped, tax
